Swing apparatus



W. J. WORLEY SWING APPARATUS July 9, 1968 Filed July 22, 1964 CEILINGLINE V... .E @L TR N WO mW IIU' L l W FIGI ATT'YS United States Patent O3,391,931 SWING APPARATUS Will J. Worley, 2106 Zuppke, Urbana, Ill.

Filed July 22, 1964, Ser. No. 384,478 4 Claims. (Cl. 272-85) where: S isthe length of the glide path; r is the length of the supporting cables;and -is the angle expressed in radians described by the cables. Inanother prior art construction, a swing platform is suspended by a pairof rigid support members from a complex track arrangement which isadapted lto provide a simulated pivotal glide path for the platform.This construction has not been entirely satisfactory, since it primarilyoffers only a pivotal action having a relatively short glide path,limited in particular by the length of the swing support members.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved swing construction.

Another object is to provide a swing having an elongated glide pathWhich is characterized by both a rolling and pivoting action.

A further object is to provide a swing apparatus having a platformsuspended from a roller which is guided along a path :approximating thecurvature of a segment of an ellipse.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the drawing, wherein:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a swing apparatus illustrating oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a swing apparatusillustrating another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a construction diagram illustrating the approximateelliptical segment generated by the pulleys of the embodimentillustrated in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a Vfragmentary elevational view of an alternative mountingconstruction useful with the embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in 'FIGURE 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URE 1, thereference numeral 11 generally designates a swing having a seat 12connected to a roller assembly 13 which is guided along an essentiallyelliptical path by means of a pair of overhead track members 14.

A pair of link chains 15 connect seat 12 to hooks 16 on the rollerassembly 13. In order to provide stability to the seat 12, chains 15 areprovided Iwith yoked ends 15a which are secured adjacent the cornerportions of rectangular seat 12.

Assem-bly 13 includes a pair of spaced-:apart brackets 17 in lwhichrollers 18 are rotatably mounted. These rollers may be advantageouslygrooved so that they seat upon the iiexible track members 1-4,facilitating their being guided therealong Ito define a path kwhichapproximates the curvature of a segment of an ellipse. Brackets 17 areinterconnected by a spacer bar 17a sized in accordance with the distancebetween tracks 14.

As is shown in FIGURE 1, tracks 14 comprise a pair of liexible cableshaving their end portions 14a secured ice to ceiling ybrackets 19. Thesecables are of substantially equal length, each :being longer than thelinear distance between the brackets 19. Since an ellipse is, =bydefinition, a curve for which the sum of the distances of any point onit from two fixed points is constant, the path defined by rollers 18 asthey travel along tracks 14 Iwill be essentially elliptical. In thismanner, a longer eiective swing radius is provided, enabling theplatform 12 to travel along an elongated glide path substantially longerthan is provided by a conventional pivotal-type swing operating Withinthe same iloor to ceiling height. l

As rollers 18 travel along -track 14, a rolling or gliding sensation isfelt by an individual sitting on platform 12. In addition, however, asthe rollers approach the track ends 14a adjacent the ceiling brackets,the pivotal action of plattform 12 about the axis of pulleys 18 isincreased so that the glide path is characterized by both a rolling andpivoting sensation.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated inFIGURE 2. As is shown therein, the tracks are in the form of rigid bars20 shaped according to the relation where a, b, a and are positiveconstants, not necessarily integer values.-

The roller assembly 13', only illustrated in part, is substantially fasis shown in FIGURE l, with the exception that spacer bars 17a' ispositioned directly between the pulleys 18'. If desired, bars 20 can beshaped to de fine any of several curves defined by Equation 1, such as asemicircle, a partial ellipse, or other special shapes Contained in thisequation.

In FIGURE 3, a construction -diagram illustrates the elliptical segmentsdened by the rollers 18 as they travel along cables 14 (FIGURE l). As isshown therein, the x and y axes intersect to define the center of anellipse having a major axis 2a and a minor axis 2b. Dotted line DCrepresents the distance between bracket D and roller C, while line C-Erepresents the distance between the lroller and bracket E. Thus, as theroller moves along the track, the sum of the distances DC and CE remainsa constant. The path defined by the pulley is approximately lrepresentedby the equation of an ellipse:

@Wilp e) where a, and b are positive constants, not necessarily integervalues.

An alternative mounting arrangement for the cables 14 of the embodimentshown in FIGURE l is illustrated in FIGURE 4. This construction isparticularly suitable as a safe resilient supporting means for thecables, since it utilizes a compression spring 25 which, should thespring fail, will not result in possible injury to a rider on the swingplatform 12. As is shown, cable 14a extends through a hole in the ange26a of mounting clamp 26. Spring 25 is coiled around the cable end 14aand positioned between an end cap 14b and the back face of the ilange26. Thus, in the event of failure of spring 25, the cable will not beIreleased from the ymounting clamp 26 which is pivotally connected to -aceiling bracket 27. It will be appreciated', of course, that energystorage means other than coil spring 25 may be used for resilientlysupporting the cable members 14. In particular, collars composed ofexible materials such as, for example, nylon, which are sized to taround cable end 14a between end cap 14b and ange 26a, have beensuitably employed. Also, cable extensions composed of these same exiblematerials provide similar resilient mounting characteristics.

While in the embodiments illustrated, tracks 14 and 20 3 are each-shownmounted to -a ceiling, it will be appreciated that they may `also besupported by any suitably rigid framework to provide a complete swingunit. Such swing units are particularly suitable for outdoor mounting,or for use where it is not desirable to mount brackets directly to aceiling.

While in the foregoing specification specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been set out in detail for the purpose of illustration,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many of the detailsset forth can be varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. Swing apparatus comprising: a platform adapted as a seat for a rider;rst and second suspension means connected at one end respectively toeach side of said platform; first and second roller means each includinga bracket for respectively receiving the other end of said rst andsecond suspension means; a rigid bar interconnecting said first andsecond roller means for maintaining them apart at a iixed distance; rstand second track members receiving said rst and second roller meansrespectively for guiding the same in a path of varying curvature, saidpath defining a portion of an ellipse whereby a rider on said platformwill experience pivotal motion at the ends of said path and glidingmotion intermediate said ends; and means for fastening the ends of saidtrack members to an overhead support.

2. The swing apparatus of claim 1 characten'zed by the fact that saidfirst and second track members are rigid tracks, each track defining apor-tion of an ellipse.

Y3. vThe swing-apparatus of claim 1-wherein each lof said rst and secondtrackvrmembers is a exible cable having a length greater than. theseparation of the fastening means supporting each cable.

4. The swing apparatus of claim 3 wherein said lastnamed means includesmeans forresiliently mounting the ends of said track members to saidfastening means.

References' Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES French, ThomasE., Engineering Drawing, pp. 68-69 McGraw-Hill, May 1941, 6th ed.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner.

A. VJ. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner.

1. SWING APPARATUS COMPRISING: A PLATFORM ADAPTED AS A SEAT FOR A RIDER;FIRST AND SECOND SUSPENSION MEANS CONNECTED AT ONE END RESPECTIVELY TOEACH SIDE OF SAID PLATFORM; FIRST AND SECOND ROLLER MEANS EACH INCLUDINGA BRACKET FOR RESPECTIVELY RECEIVING THE OTHER END OF SAID FIRST ANDSECOND SUSPENSION MEANS; A RIGID BAR INTERCONNECTING SAID FIRST ANDSECOND ROLLER MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THEM APART AT A FIXED DISTANCE;FIRST AND SECOND TRACK MEMBERS RECEIVING SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROLLERMEANS RESPECTIVELY FOR GUIDING THE SAME IN A PATH OF VARYING CURVATURE,SAID PATH DEFINING A PORTION OF AN ELLIPSE WHEREBY A RIDER ON SAIDPLATFORM WILL EXPERIENCE PIVOTAL MOTION AT THE ENDS OF SAID PATH ANDGLIDING MOTION INTERMEDIATE SAID ENDS; AND MEANS FOR FASTENING THE ENDSOF SAID TRACK MEMBERS TO AN OVERHEAD SUPPORT.